Kagome and Miroku
by PinkSakuraPetals
Summary: 100 oneshots about Higurashi Kagome and Miroku.
1. Beginnings

001.

Beginnings

It all stated with a meeting of palms to cheeks. Miroku's palm said hello to Kagome's rump and Kagome's palm returned the greeting to Miroku's face.

It wasn't his fault his hand was cursed. (In more ways than one.)

Kagome replied that she'd remember that as long as he remembered her hand was drawn to perverts like a magnet.


	2. Middles

002.

Middles

"Lady Kagome, the water is quite calm. It's safe for you to cross here." Miroku stood ankle-deep in the middle of the river, his robes bunched about his knees.

Kagome, loafers and socks in hand, stepped into the river after him, trusting his judgment. A smooth river stone brought her tip-toeing to an end, her hands grabbing rich purple cloth. Her loafers sunk, victims of an accident.

"Why, Lady Kagome, if you wanted me on top of you, you should have said something." Miroku's hair dripped with river water. His hands bracketed her head and his knees squeezed her hips. A grin the could only be called lecherous flirted with her.

Flashes of kisses stolen and gropes taken in the middle of the night hung between them, heating their blood. Lips met lips.

The fish swam around the two.


	3. Ends

003.

Ends

Miroku didn't like to see her sad, especially on this glorious day. He flexed his bare hand, beads removed. A still pink scar replaced it.

"You knew that he was going to choose her, Lady Kagome."

The girl flinched, her knees pulled closer. He hated to do this to her.

"He loved you, yes, but he loved her more."

Angry blue eyes met his. They silenced him, cursed him for speaking the truth.

"He was supposed to stay with me, Miroku. I was alive."

Miroku knelt behind her. His head rested on her shoulder, his arms banded around her.

"I am alive, too." His lips brushed her cheek. "I promise to be here until the end."


	4. Insides

004.

Insides

"The jewel was inside you?" Miroku didn't believe her at first.

"Yeah. Mistress Centipede bit it out of me." Kagome lifted her shirt to show him the scar.

A slap later, Kagome learned to never do that again.


	5. Outsides

005.

Outsides

Kagome loved the outdoors in the Feudal Era. Unlike back home, the air here was clean, the stars were visible at night, and there was actually wildlife around. (Other than the demons, of course.)

The sound of running water echoed into the campsite. Miroku and Inuyasha were currently using the river to bathe, a rare occurrence. She traded glances with Sango, identical smiles adorning their faces.

They snuck out to the river, leaving a sleeping Shippo at the campsite. Bushes hid them from view and the wind kept their scent at bay.

There were lots of reasons Kagome liked the outdoors. The sight of Miroku's firm ass was just a perk.


	6. Hours

006.

Hours

Kagome stared out her of bedroom window, the thick rain giving a gloomy setting to the city. It was slowly moving into the wee hours of the morning, but she didn't fell remotely tired. Instead, sense of anxiety settled in her, making her leg jerk like a bad tic and she couldn't _stop snapping her fingers_.

She didn't know if it was because rainstorms made her nervous, or because her mother had broken the news to her brother and her that they'd be moving to an apartment in the middle of the city. She figured it was a little of both.

"_How am I going to explain this to everyone in the Feudal Era? Inuyasha's going to be so **pissed**."_ Kagome squashed any thoughts that tried to speak up in the back of her mind that Inuyasha wouldn't be the only male in their group that would be more than a little miffed.

At first she thought that Miroku was feeling sick, he hadn't made any sort of pass at her all day. He'd been the only one to stay behind when she was about to jump into the well and Kagome had paused in climbing over the ancient wooden edge out of curiosity. "Miroku? Is something wrong?"

The monk hadn't said anything, except that he was fine. There was something in his eye that made her bring her leg back over the edge of the well and give him her complete attention.

"Miroku?"

The black-haired monk had studied her for a moment and then pulled her into a hug, his hands safely on her shoulder blades. "He should not have said those things. You are more to us than some sort of object."

Kagome had known instantly who, and what, he was referring to and stiffened against the sudden wave of tears that wanted to come out. She had bitten down harshly on a sob, managing to make it sound like a high-pitched sigh instead.

"It's alright, I know he doesn't mea-"

"No."

Miroku had released her, his hands on her upper arms to keep her from backing away.

"It was **not **right for him to say that."

Kagome remembered the look in his eyes, so dark and just a little bit frightening. Miroku's lips on her own was completely surprising and her gasp only helped to deepen it further.

When they had finally parted, they were both panting.

"You are very important to us." _Especially me._

The unspoken words had hung between them like a weight.

Even now, only a few hours later, Kagome was contemplating her life. It was going to be harder to get back there once they moved, but the shrine would still be here, she could just pose as a visitor and sneak in and out. So long as she didn't caught, her adventures would be uninterrupted.

The rain settled and Kagome climbed under her covers, snuggling into her pillow with a smile on her face.


	7. Days

007.

Days

Miroku watched as Inuyasha and Kagome argued back and forth. She wanted to go home for a few days, Inuyasha wanted her back in a few hours. Insults were traded, voices were raised, the proverbial fur flew.

Miroku counted down the seconds before the miko would fall back onto the magic of the beads around the half demon's neck.

Three…two….

"SIT BOY!"

One.

Miroku shook his head and joined in the goodbyes that were chorusing through the group. He smiled lecherously as the wind lifted the back of Kagome's skirt, exposing pink undergarments with some sort of cat on them.

That image would keep him happy for a few days at least.


	8. Weeks

008.

Weeks

Kagome fidgeted in her seat, glancing at the clock every few seconds. Her last class of the day was nearly over, but time seemed to just _crawl_. She wondered what everyone would think, being so late in coming back. She was surprised that Inuyasha hadn't come back to get her yet.

He had grudgingly given her a few days with her family, but it was now coming on four weeks since she'd last seen anyone from the Feudal Era. She'd honestly planned on going back on time, but then her grandpa got sick and she had to help around the shrine. Now that he was better, Kagome finally had a chance to get back.

The bell rang and as one the class hurried out the door, everyone anxious to do something fun on a Friday night. Kagome figured that it was probably best that Miroku _wasn't_ able to come through the well.

The girls in this time period would overwhelm him.


	9. Months

009.

Months

Miroku crept up on the unsuspecting miko, slapping a hand over her mouth to prevent screaming and an arm around her waist to keep her from escaping.

"Lady Kagome, I'm disappointed. It's been months since I've had you beside me at night, since we've.." Miroku rolled his hips into her. "..done anything together, really. Have you found someone to replace me?"

He removed his hand from her mouth when she licked him. "I've been wondering the same thing, monk-sama. I would've thought flashing you and bending down in short skirts would be a less-than-subtle enough hint for you to come take me."

Miroku showed her just how cursed his hand was.


	10. Years

010.

Years

"Miroku, Kagome's not coming back."

The monk ignored the demon slayer behind him. His eyes never left the opening of the well.

"It's been ten years. If she was coming back, she would've long before now."

"I told her I would be here until the end."

"_There was an accident early this morning involving a drunk driver in an eighteen-wheeler and a medium sized passenger car. The driver of the semi has been hospitalized, but the victims of the other car, a family of four, were pronounced dead at the scene."_


	11. Red

011.

Red

He hates her. Always smiling, never sad. 

Inuyasha brings her hopes up only to crush them with a word, a look, a kiss on lips other than hers. She smiles and turns to make breakfast, lunch, dinner. Shippo comes up to her and she laughs and plays and sings. No tears. 

Sango fails to crack the shell with frequent trips to the hot springs, with girl-only time.

He sees in her eyes that the thin veneer that covers up hurt (_sadness, anger, bewilderment, disappointment_) is hard as rock, no fractures or cracks to be seen.

Inuyasha leaves the camp, his ears hearing phantom voices that bring him to _her_. Another layer of ice is added, blue eyes dull (_freeze, scream, cry)_, and that smile comes back.

Red wakes her up. Inuyasha returns to the camp, subdued but satisfied. The half-demon bleeds as the enemy's hand runs through his abdomen. Inuyasha loses his sword and his eyes bleed. Kagome greets him, cries out in horror, kisses him back to himself.

Inuyasha ignores her, shoves her away, smiles at her. She has hope.

Miroku looks down at his own purple robes. Kagome will never see him like she sees the color red. 

He loves her. Always smiling, never sad.


	12. Orange

012.

Orange

"What on earth are you wearing, Kagome?"

Miroku turned to see the little miko climb out of the well in embarrassment. In place of her regular attire of a white shirt and obscenely short, green skirt, she wore a matching ankle-length skirt and blazer in an ugly orange color, with a lime green blouse underneath.

"Because I missed so much school, I had to transfer to another district. They have a lower budget, so this is all they can afford." Kagome pulled at her clothes with a grimace. "My old uniform is just hanging in my closet uselessly."

Sango was silent for a moment, and Miroku wondered what was going on in her head. He tried not to look at what Kagome was wearing, liking his sight the way it was. His eyes already missed staring at shapely ankles and calves, at youthful thighs.

"Kagome, you said your old clothes are at home?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Well, if you don't like this uniform, then why don't you wear your old uniform here?"

The two girls stared at each other. Kagome was non-plussed and Sango was bewildered. Miroku coughed to cover a snort.

"Why didn't I think of that?"

When Kagome jumped down the well once more, Miroku burst out laughing, ignoring the glare Sango sent his way. His little miko certainly was cute.

At least he'd still be able to ogle her legs.


	13. Yellow

013.

Yellow

"Aren't they great?"

Kagome swallowed her first reaction and smiled woodenly. "Yeah, Yuka, they're great. How much did they cost?"

Yuka stared down at her bright yellow pumps with pride. "They cost almost one hundred thousand yen! My father says they're my early birthday present, but I know he has something else for me."

Kagome shook her head. One hundred thousand yen? She thought back to the last pair of civilian shoes she bought. They only cost her two thousand yen and lasted her three years, even with her trekking about the Feudal Era.

She briefly wondered what Miroku would do with that much money. One hundred thousand yen now would be worth much more back then. Kagome rolled her eyes. 'He'd have a blast at the geisha houses, that's what he would do.'

"Kagome, are you coming? Eri's treating us to a movie."

Kagome shook herself and followed her friend, dropping thoughts of a half-naked Mirkou being pawed at by greedy geishas. 

She'd have to remember to hit him when she got back.


	14. Green

014.

Green

_Swish. Swish. Swish._

"Miroku, are you even listening to me?"

Miroku didn't look at Sango. "Yes. You said that the demons in the particular forest are rather shy so we shouldn't have to worry about being attacked."

_Swish. Swish. Swish._

"Dammit, Miroku, stop looking at Kagome's ass and pay attention!"

Miroku snapped his head to Sango, affronted. "I was not looking at Lady Kagome's ass! I was admiring the way her short skirt swishes against the back of her thighs each time her hips sway."

The monk never saw Kagome's fist launching into his head.


	15. Blue

015.

Blue

Miroku loved the way Kagome glowed when she was angry at Inuyasha. Her spiritual powers reacted to Inuyasha's demonic presence and tried to lash out, as untrained as it was. Most days her power would be as pink as the Shikon no Tama, warm and loving.

When Kagome was fighting, though, it would be a cool blue.

Miroku's own power channeled itself through sutras and his staff. He was proud to say that he could easily hold his own in a fight against some of the stronger demons. He'd proven that many times in fact.

However, Kagome would surpass him tenfold if she ever received proper training. Miroku was eternally grateful his was born human and not a demon. His lecherous ways would have _really_ been the end of him.

Right now, Kagome was too inexperienced to realize that she had the potential to kill Inuyasha in her fits of anger and irritation. Inuyasha's ignorance was due to the fifty years he spent sealed to a tree.

"Inuyasha, sit!" The hanyou ate dirt, an impression dug into the ground around him. Miroku chuckled quietly and stepped forward.

"Now, Lady Kagome, Inuyasha is only concerned for your safety. You know he and Kouga do not get along at all. He is worried that Kouga will try to take off with you."

Kagome huffed at that. "I'm perfectly capable of taking care of myself."

"Oh, sure, that's why I had to save your ass from that squirrel demon! The stupid thing couldn't have hurt a human child!"

Kagome's eyes flashed and Miroku wondered if he should start looking for shelter. "Inuyasha, I do not think that was wise to say."

"SIT!"

Miroku's breath caught in his throat. Kagome's power poured itself into her command and the subjugation word pulled Inuyasha four meters into the ground. The miko was wrapped in bright blue, tendrils of power trailing about her. One strand brushed past the monk and he shivered even as his own power fought the hold he'd had on it since he was a child. Heat flushed through him.

Oblivious to the monk's reaction to her anger, Kagome stomped back to the village, muttering about various ways of painful castration. Miroku was left alone with the unconscious hanyou, struggling to keep his energy from flaring up and vaporizing the unfortunate demon.

Miroku wished Naraku would show up right now so that he'd be able to witness Kagome's power again and again and _again_.


	16. Purple

016.

Purple

Kagome concentrated on her algebra, steadfastly ignoring the migraine pounding out a rhythm in her skull. She plugged numbers into variables A, B, and C. Moments later, she groaned as she realized she messed up another quadratic formula.

A flash of purple out of the corner of her eye increased her migraine. It was back again.

It always came at the most inopportune moments. Really, what was wrong with ten minutes from now, when she wasn't working on homework? Did It have nothing better to do than to annoy the hell out of her?

"Not now. Come back later." The purple left her peripheral vision and she looked up in surprise. It had never listened to her requests before. What was so different about this time?

* * *

It was nearing two weeks and Kagome was getting worried. She hadn't seen even a small glimpse of purple out of the corner of her eye. She wasn't being spied on in the shower. Kagome crept out of her room once everyone else had fallen asleep. She heard Souta's soft whistling snores as she passed his open door. Her grandfather's fake security system (really just string and decorative sutras) was easily hopped over and Kagome held her breath as she slid the well house door open.

She hadn't been in here since the well had spit her out a year ago. Dust covered every horizontal surface and spiders had made their webs in the neglected corners. The well was sealed once more with heavy planks and more fake sutras. A flash of purple edged into her vision and Kagome turned to It, finally acknowledging Its existence.

His violet eyes stared at her, a small smile on his face. _"Hello, Lady Kagome." _His voice echoed softly, as if he was speaking over a great distance.

Kagome swallowed. "Miroku, why are you still here? What's binding you to this property?" She was expecting a flirty grin, a lecherous gesture, even a simple 'I don't know.' What she got was a bitter laugh and a cold gaze.

_"This damned well will not let go of my soul. It has decided to use me for a power source." _The ghost of one of her best friends looked at her. _"Did you know that I'm the reason you were able to be pulled through time? I saw Mistress Centipede take a bite out of you. I dare say I believe you now." _

"What are you talking about, Miroku? I don't understand."

Miroku sighed and sat down on the lid of the well. _"After you were pulled back to your time, everyone parted ways. Inuyasha pretty much disappeared. Shippo went to track down a Silver Kitsune. He said he wanted to improve his kitsune magic. Sango gathered up newly made orphans from the battle and began to train them to become demon slayers." _Here, Miroku stopped and looked deep in thought for a moment. Kagome kept quiet, not wanting to interrupt. She longed for any sort of news, good or bad, about her friends. _"I stayed with Kaede. She was nearing the end and I knew that the village would be defenseless until a new holy person could be trained. I chose a few likely candidates and began to weed out the ones who would be the strongest of the bunch. A young girl named Shida passed all of the tests and I managed to get very far in her training before my wind tunnel reappeared."_

Kagome couldn't help the gasp that fell from her lips. "Miroku, the wind tunnel disappeared when we killed Naraku! What caused it to come back?" She felt tears sting the corners of her eyes and she wiped at them impatiently. After all their hard work, Miroku still suffered.

_"I never did find out. Naraku may have planned it that way, hoping that I'd take out the rest of you with me. I didn't really get the time to look into it. As soon as the wind tunnel showed up, I left the village to Shida. I didn't want to risk killing anyone else when it swallowed me." _Miroku flexed his right hand, it was clear of any wrappings. Kagome was starting to get an inkling as to what might have happened. _"I miscalculated the time I had left, however. I hadn't even passed the well when the tunnel expanded and pulled me in. It took the well in, too. It was horrible. I had never even dreamed of that much pain before. It took me one hundred years to realize that I hadn't passed on like I hoped, but had been absorbed by the well as some sort of energy source." _Kagome was a bit confused and it must have shown on her face because Miroku continued.

_"Even though you had finished your adventure in the Feudal Era, the well needed to stay open until you traveled through it in the future. If it closed down before then, you would have never been pulled through it and a paradox would have been created. Since I'm a holy man, I made a suitable spiritual energy pool. The well rebuilt itself in two hundred years, shortly before your ancestors built their home around it. Kaede's village had expanded greatly over the years and the outskirts of the village had finally reached the well's clearing. The years up until now have been fairly boring, what with the demons being all be eradicated or locked in their own world, but I must say that watching you grow up was an interesting experience."_

Kagome looked up at this, forgetting all about keeping her teary eyes hidden. "You mean you've been here since before I was born? Why didn't you speak to me before? You knew I could see spirits."

_"I did not want to risk you recognizing me once you were pulled into the Feudal Era. I did not wish to create a paradox. I have been trying to communicate with you for the past year, but until now you have pretended that I didn't even exist." _Kagome flushed in embarrassment under the reproachful look Miroku sent her way.

"So what happens now? Are you going to be my shadow for the rest of my life? Can you even leave the property? I won't be here for very much longer. I hope to get into a good college and move into an apartment of my own in the city."

Miroku looked pensive for moment, unhappy at the news. His eyes, Kagome realized with a jolt that he was not transparent like other ghosts had been, darkened to nearly black before lightening again. _"I have no control over what you do, Lady Kagome. I will stay here until my power runs out and am replaced by another source. There is one thing you could do for me, however." _Miroku stood up and gestured to the lid over the well. _"Please remove this worthless seal and climb into the well. I am strongest at the bottom and I wish to give you something."_

Kagome couldn't help the old suspicion she had of any sort of 'gift' from Miroku. "What exactly is this 'something' you want to give me?"

_"Tsk, tsk, Lady Kagome. I may look solid, but can't even cause a breeze." _Miroku demonstrated by shoving his hand through her shoulder. _"See? I couldn't hurt a fly. Now hurry and get this pathetic warding off of the well and join me at the bottom." _Miroku sank through the well lid and Kagome was left to deal with the heavy planks of wood. It took her nearly twenty minutes to lift all of them and she was sweating a bit by the time she was done. She peered over the edge and saw Miroku waiting patiently at the bottom.

"Oh, sure, I'll join you at the bottom. While I'm climbing down the ladder, feel free to stare at my ass, why don't you!" Kagome rolled her eyes at the chuckle the rose from the well and hiked herself over the lip. Well practiced movements ensured that her feet hit every rung and her hands avoided splintered areas. She hopped off a few inches from the tightly packed earth and looked around her. It had been so long since she'd last been down here. "What is it you wanted to give me, Miroku?"

Kagome looked up at the monk and jolted violently to see him a few inches from her face, his violet eyes staring at her. Hands grabbed her upper arms and she paled. "Miroku, I thought you said you couldn't become solid. What's going on?"

_"Relax, Lady Kagome. I can tell that you think I'm going to trap you here with me, after all your spiritual energy is much greater than mine, but you have nothing to fear from me. I am using the last of my free will to give this to you. After this, you will never see me again. The well's hold on my will be too powerful for me to roam about, even within the well house."_

Kagome felt as if her eyes would roll right out of her head, they were open so far. Miroku leaned down and placed his lips against hers, it felt as if she'd pressed her lips against ice. A frozen tongue forced its way into her mouth and she felt a jolt of power course through her, filling up her half-empty soul and strengthening her control. Warm hands, so different than the kiss, roamed her body. One came to rest on her backside while the other pulled her leg up to wrap around a warm waist. Her other leg joined in, anchoring her to the monk in front of her and freeing his hands to explore her further.

Just as her lungs were beginning to scream that she needed air, Miroku gently disentangled her legs and set her on her feet once more. His lips let go of her and he smiled sadly at her as she panted. Kagome noted that he didn't even look slightly ruffled.

_"I hope that what little power I could give to you will help you in the years to come. Please, take care of the soul you hold within you. It will need all of the love it can get once it matures and takes on a life of its own." _Kagome's hand snapped out to hold onto Miroku's arm and she could feel that he was already losing any substance he had. Before her eyes he began to melt, his coloring fading and his outline blurring. She bit her lip to hold any whimpers that tried to pass her lips. "Miroku, if I had stayed in the Feudal Era, what would have happened between us?"

_"If the wind tunnel hadn't come back, I would hope that we would have had a close relationship with each other. Do not dwell on what ifs, Lady Kagome. They only cause pain, guilt, and doubt."_

"Why do you still call me Lady? You dropped the honorifics with Sango shortly after we met her. What was so different between us than what you had with Sango?"

_"Unlike Sango, you are a priestess. You deserve respect from everyone, even your closest friends. I would have called you Lady Kagome even if we had been married. You are of a greater purity than what I could have ever hoped for. Please hold onto that, Lady Kagome."_

Kagome's fist slid through Miroku's sleeve as he became completely intangible and she swallowed a sob harshly. "You were a good man as well, Miroku-sama. If you weren't, you would have trapped me here as well."

Violet eyes smiled at her. Kagome refused to blink until the last traces of purple disappeared from sight. "Thank you, Miroku-sama." Her arms cradled her stomach as she leaned against the well wall.


	17. Brown

017.

Brown

Kagome decided right then and there that she most definitely did _not_ like rain. As she tried to wring the water from her skirt, so heavy that it was nearly falling off, she came to the conclusion that she, in fact, _loathed_ the rain.

"Kagome, if your things got wet, you can borrow one of my outfits." Sango had an extra traveler's outfit in her hands, identical to the one she always wore.

"Thank you, Sango. I was worried I'd have to sit in m sleeping bag until my clothes dried." Kagome followed Sango behind the curtain the guys had put up for privacy while everyone changed. Kagome had been surprised when Miroku was the one who first suggested it.

"Son of a bitch, Shippo! I told you to keep your toys in your pockets while we gathered firewood! Your stupid tops buried me and Miroku in at least two dozen centimeters of mud!"

The girls peeked around the curtain to see that Inuyasha and Miroku closely resembled thick, brown, soggy mud-monsters. They shared an exasperated look, knowing they'd be stuck with the laundry when the rain stopped. Still, Kagome thought, it was worth it as she watched Miroku strip out of his clogged robes.


	18. Black

018.

Black

Kagome looked up at the sky nervously. Thick black clouds were rolling in, quickly making the early afternoon sky dark. The group hoped that it would be a normal rain storm, but the sounds of hundreds of demons screaming, screeching, and roaring from within the cumulonimbus clouds shot down that dream quickly.

Miroku was already loosening the beads around his wind tunnel while Sango had her large boomerang braced on one shoulder. Kirara had taken Shippo to safety and was standing behind her mistress. Kagome frowned when she couldn't see Inuyasha.

'_Where is that idiot?'_

"WIND SCAR!" Kagome whirled around to see the red clad hanyou slam his sword into the ground, releasing enormous waves of demonic energy that vaporized a large portion of the demons advancing on their small groups. Sango took that as her signal and hopped on the giant nekomata behind her. The two took to the skies to decimate the winged demons.

The girl from the future started violently when a large warm hand gripped her upper arm. She swung her bow around to defend and stared dumbfounded at Miroku's laughing face. He held her bow loosely within his fingers, his grip as gentle as if he were grasping the hand of a child.

"Lady Kagome, I'm pleased to see that you're learning to respond quickly." The monk's eyes became serious. "Please stay back here, where your arrows will be most effective. Kagome's breath caught as she stared at his moving lips.

_They would never know. It made sense that the two of them were standing together, away from the action. Miroku couldn't unleash his wind tunnel until Inuyasha and Sango got out of the way. She was only useful in long range situations. She was worthless at hand to hand. They'd never see the exchanged kiss, the quick, welcome grope._

Kagome's eyes rose to meet Miroku's and she saw that he was thinking along the same lines as her. The sound of their yelling teammates as they killed demon after demon faded into the background as the two leaned forward. Soft, moist lips met strong, chapped ones. Miroku's tongue forced its way into her mouth, showing the only aggression the man would ever have when it came to the bedroom. She fought back for a moment, trying to push her way into his mouth, but a hand grabbing her _there_ had her moaning and melting into a puddle of liquid hormones.

Miroku broke the kiss and rested his forehead against hers. He looked into her eyes, panting. "Promise me you'll stay back here, Lady Kagome."

Kagome could only nod breathlessly before he was running into the middle of the fray, his staff removing multiple heads at once. She readied her bow when her balance returned and she focused on the black cloud in front of her, waiting for the Shikon shard she could sense to show itself.


	19. White

019.

White

The lights around her weren't right.

Every time Kagome jumped into the well and crossed either into the past or into her present, a symphony of ethereal blue surrounded her. There was no point of origin of the light, no shadows cast. Magic in a simple form.

This time, however, when she jumped white encased her.

There was a sense of nothingness around her, as though she was in a cavernous area, but Kagome felt boxed in by the lack of definition of perspective. As quickly as it has come, the stark white emptiness vanished and Kagome was standing at the bottom of the well, the clear blue sky above her.

Right away, she noticed that the heavy creeper vines that lined most of the well's interior was much shorter, the lowest bit of vegetation too high for her to reach.

"What's Inuyasha been up to this time?" Kagome set down her pack to ease the strain on her shoulders and raised her hands to her mouth. "Inuyasha, get down here and help me up! This isn't funny!" The sound of wind rustling through the trees was all the met her ears. A few birdcalls echoed in the clearing. Kagome huffed and shouted louder. "Inuyasha, if you don't get here right now, I'm going to say it!" A few minutes passed and there wasn't even a hint of annoyed grumbling in the distance. Kagome braced herself for the onslaught of cursing that was sure to follow her actions and screamed at the top of her lungs. "SIT!"

Nothing.

"Inuyasha?"

"Sango, Shippo?"

"…Miroku?"

None of her friends peeked over the edge of the well, smiles on their faces for a well-played trick, or stony-faced after a serious battle that she missed. Kagome didn't allow herself to worry. After all, it wasn't the first time that the rest of the group had been unable to get tot the well when she was due back. She stared up at the lip of the well, at a loss of what to do. If the vines had been a bit lower, she'd have been able to climb her way out, but Inuyasha needed to lift her heavy pack. As it was, Kagome didn't even have rope that she could hope to use to get out.

As she sat on the hard-packed bottom of the well, deep in thought, a slight shifting in the light above her caught her attention. She looked up to see Kaede, a very welcome face at this point, looking over the edge. The one-eyed miko looked puzzled to see her, but Kagome wrote it off as surprise that she was still down here.

"Kaede! Boy, am I glad to see you! Can you believe Inuyasha cut all the vines? Doesn't that idiot know I can't jump out of the well like he can?"

"How do you know my name, demon? If you hope to trick villagers into your well for your next meal, you will not succeed. We will seal the well before you can take any of us!"

Kagome's heart stopped. "Kaede, what are you talking about? I'm not a demon; I'm a miko like you. Granted, I'm really untrained and clumsy, and I tend to make situations worse before they get better, but I'm not a demon!"

Kaede didn't look moved. "You say you are a miko, but what are you doing inside the Bone Eaters Well? I think you are a demon who managed to survive the magic of the well and are trying to trick me into freeing you."

"No! Really, Kaede, I'm not a demon! I'm from five hundred years in the future. When I jump into the well in my time, I cross into the past. I'm on a mission with Inuyasha, Sango, Shippo, and Miroku to collect the shards of the Shikon Jewel!"

The miko's face hardened. "What you speak is obviously false. The half-demon Inuyasha lives in the Western Lands with his full-blooded brother Sesshomaru. He would not be traveling with a miko, if that is what you really are. I know not who Sango and Shippo are, but I know who Miroku is, and it also unlikely that you are traveling with him. He is sealed to the Goshinboku Tree, sentenced to an eternal sleep for stealing the hearts of young women. He met his match when he tried to take on my sister, Kikyo. A monk such as he did not stand a chance against a miko as powerful as Kikyo."

Kagome's jaw dropped. Without really thinking, she blurted out the first thing that came to her mind. "You sealed him to a tree for being a flirt?!"

"Nay, he was stealing the hearts of young maidens quite literally. The monk is a wolf in sheep's clothing." Kaede studied her for a moment. "How do you know of the Shikon Jewel, demon? My sister carried it with her into the afterlife when she was cremated. Kikyo guarded the jewel her entire life and decided, in her old age, that she would continue the responsibility in her death."

Kagome's hands shook as she pulled out the small vial that held the shards of the jewel that the group had managed to collect. Any other time, she'd be met with the sight of the pearl pink jewel glinting at her, eerily glowing in her grasp.

This time however, it was empty.

* * *

Kagome knew as soon as she came to that she passed out. There was the smell of smoke on the air, a familiar scent to her nose and when she opened her eyes she saw that she was indeed inside Kaede's hut. The wood crackled in the flames and shot sparks into the dirt around the fire pit. The old miko sat across the hut, mixing something in a large wooden bowl.

"Kaede?"

The older woman didn't turn around, keeping her attention on the task in front of her. "I see that you are awake. I'll need to check your head in just a moment. You hit it pretty hard on the side of the well when you fainted." Here, the miko turned with the bowl in hand and crossed the space between them. "Against my better judgment, I had the village's strongest men lift you and your bag out of the well and to my hut. I no longer believe you to be a demon."

Kagome blinked. "Why did you change your- Ouch! What's in that stuff? It stings!"

"It is a poultice that will keep the swelling down in your head and keep evil spirits from infecting the wound you have. Like I said, you knocked against the side of the well when you fainted. There must have been a sharp rock in the wall. Sit still."

Kagome clasped her fingers together to keep them from fidgeting and finished her question. "What made you change your mind about me?"

"When a demon is trying to lure a human into a trap, they'll do just about anything to trick them. However, even the most simple-minded of demons know better than to pass out in front of humans. It leaves them vulnerable. When then men set you down in my hut, I checked over your spiritual energy and found no demonic presence."

"Oh." Kagome grimaced as Kaede wrapped a length of cloth around her head. "Kaede, what I said is true. I really did come from the future. I'm the one responsible for breaking the Shikon Jewel and I really am traveling with Inuyasha and Miroku. I don't know what happened, but somehow I ended up here, in this alternate past."

"It is perplexing. I have never heard stories of the Bone Eater's Well transporting someone through time, but I suppose it may not be entirely impossible. There are many things we do not know about the well. It has been dry since before my grandmother was born and has always been used to dispose of demon carcasses. Using the well's magic to cross into the past, or it seems in your case, into another timeline altogether, is a first." Kaede gathered up her bowl and cloths and set them aside. "Take your time to recover, dear child. I am needed elsewhere in the village right now, but I should be back by dusk. I have some stew from the previous night sitting in that pot over there. Just set it in the fire to warm when you get hungry." Kaede quickly shuffled around her hut, picking up various herbs and bottles, cloths and bowls, and headed out the door. Kagome realized it was still daytime, probably around noon.

'_Is Miroku really evil here? He was never very good as a monk, but his lecherous tendencies never really hurt anyone before. I just can't imagine him ripping out a young woman's heart. That's just gross.' _

Kagome carefully picked herself off the floor and peeked outside. Kaede's hut was situated on the same plot of land, just at the base of the steps that led to the well. Seeing no one around, Kagome trotted up the stairs, back to the well's clearing. Off to the right, hidden by younger trees, was the trunk of the Goshinboku. Its crown towered over the rest of the forest, regal in its age.

Against the trunk, wrapped in creeper vines, was Miroku, long ofudas plastered against him. The characters were complicated, ancient, and unknown to Kagome. She'd never seen _her_ Miroku use them before.

Of course her Miroku had never sealed a human before.

His dark hair was the same as it always was, any growth halted by the power in the seals. His face was slack, peaceful. There was no glove on his right hand that suggested the Naraku had gained power here. As Kagome approached, one hand twitched.

She remembered what happened when she woke Inuyasha on the tree and halted, hesitant to face this unknown friend. "Miroku?"

The hand twitch again and with it, his head. Violet eyes met hers when he woke, confusion lightening their color. Miroku looked around in a daze, taking in the forest that had thrived while he was asleep. His eyes caught hers again and they hardened, a cold glint darkening them. "So, you're here to gloat then. It seems your power is lacking if I'm awake after only a few days, Kikyo." The monk took in Kagome's school uniform. "Or perhaps it's been a few years. Have you decided to forget your calling as a miko and take up the life of a common whore?"

Kagome's hand slapped against his cheek before she was even aware that she had moved.

"How dare you! I'm not Kikyo, Miroku, and I'm definitely not a whore!" Kagome was surprised at how mad she was at him, but figured it was only natural. When she had first met Miroku, he'd thought that she was some sort of loose woman, but had expressed that perception in much more subtle ways until he'd gotten to know who she was. To hear him blatantly say such a thing to her made her realize that this really wasn't _her _Miroku.

"I see that now. You may look like her, but you bite harder. Kikyo would have never used physical violence to get her point across like some sort of savage." Miroku's grin was hungry.

Kagome couldn't believe it. Even when it was Miroku sealed to the tree, she was being compared to her ancestor.


	20. Colorless

020.

Colorless

Miroku loved Spring. Life returned to the world and the birds filled the air with their songs. Tender buds grew on trees, flowers bloomed, animals made a reappearance. Color sprang from the colorless canvas the gods used to create their existence.

Kagome brought out her short skirts again, the pants she wore through Winter hopefully burned. The smiling cats made a return to the _lovely _posterior of the miko in their group and Miroku couldn't be happier.


	21. Friends

021.

Friends

"Surprise!"

Kagome looked around the hut, startled. Paper ribbons were strung along the roof and everyone, even Inuyasha, had a paper cone on their heads.

"What's going on you guys?"

Sango stepped forward and placed a paper cone on Kagome's head. "Miroku said he overheard you and Inuyasha talking about your birthday and he came up with the idea to throw you a party. Inuyasha snuck to your time while you were in school and asked your mother for help."

Kagome looked over at Miroku and Inuyasha. The half-demon refused to meet her eyes, but there was a small smile on his face. Miroku gave her a big grin and a wave.

"It is not everyday that a girl turns sixteen, Lady Kagome. It didn't feel right to ignore your special day."

"You guys are great." Kagome could feel her eyes sting and she rubbed at them. "I couldn't ask for better friends."


	22. Enemies

022.

Enemies

Kagome felt around her cell carefully, looking for any weaknesses in the walls. She had to trust her hands in the poor lighting, and it was hard to tell if a crack went far enough into the stone for her to work with.

Light flickered out of the corner of her eye, barely noticeable, and Kagome turned to look at the bottom edge of the door. Someone was coming. She made her way as quickly as she dared over to the side of the door and pressed against the wall. The door creaked as the key was turned and it was pushed open, its hinges rusted over.

She moved to knock the lantern out of the other person's hand, but a glint of metal and then a sharp pain in her arm forced a cry from her lips and she stumbled back. More lanterns were brought in, each carried by a generic looking demon.

Miroku stood in front of her, staff in hand.

"You bastard! Where's Sango? What have you done with her?"

Miroku scratched at an ear, uninterested. "Lord Naraku decided she lived past her usefulness. We threw her in the feeders' pit outside. You know, the one you passed to get here, the one filled with starving beetle demons." Miroku looked at her, a dark glint in his eyes. "I watched her get devoured, you know. She screamed when they started on her innards. Her eyes were eaten like overripe berries. They _squished_."

Kagome fought off the gagging sensation in the back of her throat and hurled a chunk of bone (from the skeleton she'd affectionately named Howaito) at the traitor in front of her. Miroku brushed it out of the air like it was an annoying piece of fluff and chuckled.

"I bet you've already guessed that Inuyasha and Shippo have been taken care of. It's interesting to see what purification ofudas will do to demons. Did you know that half demons are left as a pile of bubbling flesh? There actually is some humanity in them."

Kagome couldn't control the sob that burst out of her throat. "Why are you doing this? Did Naraku put you under some spell?"

Miroku sneered nastily. "Oh, yes, let's believe I've still got a good heart, even after what I've done. I've been working for Naraku _since the beginning, _Ka-go-me. The whole story about my wind tunnel? It's been fabricated. I'm not a traveling monk, nor have I ever been. I'm a _wind demon_, just like Kagura. It makes sense, I suppose, since we're twins."

Kagome felt the world around her crumble. Miroku, the one they'd trusted from the very beginning, had really been working for the enemy. "But how did you manage to fool the demons around us? They never noticed anything."

"I'm a demon with the power of a wind void, a mixture of Kagura's abilities and Kanna's talents. I just sucked my scent into my wind tunnel. When they have no scent of their own, demons register as humans in smell." Miroku stepped forward and pushed Kagome, forcing her to loose her balance and she fell to her knees. "Enough explaining, though. This knowledge doesn't do you any good now. Naraku has decided that, you've outlived your usefulness as well. He's already got three-quarters of the Shikon, mostly thanks to you, so it'll be easy for him to get the rest." Kagome just looked up at him. "Why so sad, Kagome? At least you won't be here anymore, right?"

Kagome lowered her head to stare at the ground in front of her. There was a sense of unreality around her and she blinked, hoping to wake herself up. The jingle of metal on metal caught her attention and she looked back up in time to see the large ring on the end of Miroku's staff, sharp enough to cut through demon scales, rushing toward her. "Good bye, _Lady Kagome_."

She blinked again and it stayed dark.


	23. Lovers

023.

Lovers

They tried to make a relationship work between them. He stopped groping other women, and she stopped mooning over their half-demon friend. He took up the responsibility of protecting her, and she dressed his wounds when it was all over. He offered his family name to her, and she offered him an heir.

When he was hot and hard and cumming into her, and she was hot and wet and tight around him, he tried not to look at her as a means to an end, and she tried not to think about silver hair and dog ears.

The two of them stared down at the pile of flesh that used to be Naraku. He held out his empty right hand, she held out the completed Jewel. They both stared. He realized that this wasn't planned, that he was supposed to die before this could happen. She realized that it was over for her, that she could go home for good now. They turned to look at each other, their realizations showing on their faces.

He told her that he never planned on marrying her, that had only said it to get her to agree, she told him that it was the same for her, that she'd taken pills to prevent pregnancy. He remarked that the sex was good, though, and she agreed. He asked if they could continue, with no strings this time, and she said "Yes."

* * *

Miroku watched as Kagome embraced Inuyasha, even as Sango clung to his own arm, weeping softly. Their friend from the future had to leave now, to go on with her own life. Shippo bawled like the child he was, eyes red and nose stuffed. Kagome was fighting back her own tears, but a few escaped when the fox's sobs filled with anguish.

"I'm sorry, Shippo, but I don't belong here anymore. I'm afraid that if I stay here too long, the well will stop working for me. Besides, demons live for hundreds of years. You can just visit me when you reach my time the slow way."

Kagome's reassurances only minimally calmed the child and she sighed sadly before taking a seat on the edge of the well. Sango's tears grew louder, Shippo began hiccupping from crying so hard, and Inuyasha swallowed repeatedly, eyes suspiciously wet. Kagome looked all of them in the eye.

"Bye, guys. I love you."

Miroku watched as she jumped into the well and out of their lives. His eyes were dry and his heart was calm. He'd said his goodbyes every night for the past week. He opened up the hand not held in a death grip by the demon slayer at his side and stared at the little foil circle filled with colored pills. Kagome had pressed it into his palm seconds before she began her goodbyes, had met his eyes and told him what they were. He looked back up, to the well that had taken away the woman who would give birth to his first child. His whisper disappeared under the noise of rustling leaves and crying friends.

"_I love you."_


	24. Family

024.

Family (Sequel to Purple)

Kagome watched her son play with the other children at the park. It was one of her rare days off from working at the university and she always spent them with him.

"Mama, watch me!" Kagome looked up to see her son sitting at the top of the tallest slide. He pushed himself forward with a squeal and giggled all the way down. Kagome smiled and clapped for him.

"That's great, Miroku! You went so fast!"

The little boy beamed and took off for another part of the playground, keeping in sight of his mother. Kagome jolted when one of the other mothers leaned over.

"Your son is so adorable! How old is he?"

Kagome looked at the slightly older woman with a smile. "He just turned five last week."

"He's very brave for such a young boy. My daughter, Haruhi, is seven but she won't go down that slide. She's very fearful of heights."

"Which one is your daughter?"

The woman pointed to a young girl digging in the sandbox. Kagome blinked in surprise. Haruhi looked like the spitting image of Rin. "She's going to be a heartbreaker when she grows up." The woman looked pleased with the comment.

"Your son must take after his father, what with the purple eyes." Kagome tensed a little, but she forced herself to relax.

"Yes, his father had gorgeous violet eyes."

"Had, dear?" The older woman looked sorry to have asked, but there was curiosity in her eyes.

"Yes, his father was killed in the line of duty." Kagome recited the fabrication without hesitation.

"Oh, he was a cop?" The woman took Kagome's silence as a yes and continued. "I hope they caught whoever did it. It's a shame that such wonderful young men risk their lives, but I'm so grateful for it."

Kagome allowed the woman to believe her assumption and spoke with her a while before the woman commented that she needed to start dinner and left with her daughter. Kagome watched her go, glad to be rid of the nosy woman. Many people assumed that, when she said Miroku's father was killed on duty, he was either police or military. Kagome didn't argue the point because it made it so much easier in the long run.

She jolted when a small weight landed itself in her lap and she looked down into the purple eyes of her son.

"Mama, I'm hungry! Can we have tempura tonight?" He gave her the irresistible 'I'm-so-cute-you-will-bow-to-my-every-whim' look and Kagome laughed.

"If Grandma hasn't started dinner yet, I'll make tempura, Miroku." Kagome wrapped her arms around him and stood. "We'd better hurry, though. She likes to start cooking early." Her son cheered and pointed in the general direction of the shrine.

"Come on, Mama, let's go home fast!"

* * *

Kagome finished tucking the blankets around a sleepy Miroku and left his room quietly. Her mother bid her goodnight as she passed her room. Kagome entered her own room, nearly unchanged since she finished her adventures and sat down on her desk chair. Moonlight filtered through the window, illuminating a patch of carpet.

She had planned to move out of the shrine for good, but found herself back here when her husband died. She'd made good on her hopes of getting into a good university and majored in Ancient Japanese History. There weren't too many job opportunities with a Master's Degree in that field, but she'd continued with it because she wanted to see if she could figure out what happened to her friends. Nothing came of it, but Kagome did land a job teaching at the university.

It was during her years as a student there that she met Yamanaka Yuhi. He was the youngest son of the multimillionaire Yamanaka Hotaru and was going to the university to strengthen his business skills. He had taken an immediate interest in her and pestered her for weeks for a date. Surprisingly, Kagome found that underneath the rich-man façade, Yuhi was a pretty decent man. The two of them dated for a year and, after graduation, Yuhi proposed to her. Kagome was shocked but accepted happily. Yuhi's family, while comprised completely of men, was very friendly and took to treating her like fragile china. Their over-protectiveness was almost too much sometimes.

When Kagome found out she was pregnant, she was ecstatic. She had always wanted a child and knew that Yuhi was chomping at the bit to start a family of his own. Her brothers-in-law became unbearably protective and the Yamanaka men as a whole learned just how volatile her temper could get while pregnant.

It was three weeks before her due date when Yuhi died. He'd been at a meeting in America and was returning home when her plane crashed into the ocean. Kagome went into early labor, making the already stressed out men around her panic. She managed to get them calmed down enough to get them to drive her to the hospital and she had the baby with a lot of sweat and crushed hands of her brothers-in-law. After the commotion died down the family mourned their loss with tears and liberal amounts of swearing.

Kagome refused their offer of giving her a place to stay in the multi-roomed mansion most of the family lived in and moved back in with her mother. Her grandfather had died two years previous and Kagome worried that her mother couldn't handle the shrine without help. The Yamanaka men visited her weekly, some even daily, almost always bringing a present for Miroku, and helped with odd jobs around the shrine. Kagome was very grateful to them.

She was speechless when she got her first look at her son's eyes. Instead of brown like Yuhi's or blue like her own, her son had violet eyes. She couldn't figure out where the color had come from and panicked at the thought that her brothers-in-law would come to the conclusion that she'd been unfaithful. With a jolt, Kagome remembered the incident with Miroku's spirit all those years ago. Had that lecherous monk actually given her a part of his soul so that he'd be reincarnated into her first born? When Miroku had said that there was another soul inside her and that it would become a new life, she'd taken it that he impregnated her and she was going to give birth within a year. She was stressed for weeks afterward, half-hoping and half-dreading the thought that she was going to be an unwed mother. She couldn't decided if she was relieved or disappointed that the pregnancy tests came back negative every time.

She knew that her son wasn't the reborn monk literally, just like she wasn't Kikyo, but she named him Miroku to honor him anyway. His birth certificate labeled Yuhi as his biological father, but Kagome's mind always went back to Miroku when the issue of her son's eyes came up. Kagome covered it by saying that her family was known for occasional violet eyed children and the Yamanaka men bought it without question.

She still thought about her friends in the past, especially the monk trapped in the Bone Eater's Well. They were family to her. The Yamanaka man filled the empty space left in her heart when her trips to the past stopped and they were family to her as well, even if it was like having a group of strong bodyguards around at all times.

Kagome left her room to check on Miroku one last time before she went to sleep. His blankets had been kicked off and he lay sprawled sideways on his bed. Kagome smiled and rolled her eyes. Miroku had always been a restless sleeper. She tip-toed her way through the mine field of toys on the floor and lifted the sheets from their hanging position on the side of the bed. She carefully right Miroku so he was laying the right way and settled the blankets over him. Kagome brushed his thick fringe from his eyes and planted a kiss on his brow.

"I love you, Miroku." Her whisper sounded loud to her ears. She saw her son's lips move and she hovered closer, hoping for sleep-talk blackmail for when he was older.

"I love you as well, Kagome-sama."

_She'd see the color purple in his eyes and think of the family she could have had._


	25. Strangers

025.

Strangers

When Kagome thought about it, the group she was traveling with were little more than strangers to her. Forced to a semi-agreeable state of living with each other in such close contact so that they could all work toward a common goal pretty much eliminated major objections to character flaws and weird habits, but there were still times when conversations were stilted and silences were more awkward than comfortable.

Shippo was easily the one who was least bothered by the fact that he didn't really know the adults he was traveling with. Sometimes, though, he looked every bit of the sad, lost, and lonely little boy that he should be and Kagome couldn't help but wonder if he had any surviving relatives at all.

Most days it felt like Sango was only there to kill Naraku, not to be part of the group in any way, though that _was_ why she joined them in the first place. She was an older sister figure to Kagome, but on some occasions they were acquaintances at best. Sango always held back when it came to her emotions around the group.

She'd known Inuyasha the longest, and she was close to him, but the memory of Kikyo hung between them. Kagome had never really seen a completely open and true side of the half-demon. He'd been hurt too many times to allow himself to rust others to that level and Kagome didn't blame him. To her, he was a member of a previously thought mythological group of beings, amazingly strong, in will and in power, and was unreachable.

Miroku was the unknown in the group. The two of them had their spiritual powers in common, but nothing else seemed to tie him to the rest of them. He was respectful to her, even when he was being perverted. Like Sango and Inuyasha, though, she had only ever seen his outside shell, the brave front that hid he was terrified of the hole in his hand, of being sucked into it one day. Kagome caught him, late one night, sobbing quietly under his blankets. She never let on that she was awake and listened to him fall into a fitful sleep.

The two of them were the only ones awake tonight, each staring into the fire with heavy thoughts. Mushin's trick was still bothering the monk, Kagome knew. Miroku had honestly thought his mentor was dying and had brought thoughts of his own looming death back into the forefront of his mind.

"We're going to stop him, Miroku." Kagome watched her friend flinch and knew he'd been thinking about it again. "We're going to kill Naraku and free you from the wind tunnel."

"I know, Lady Kagome. I know you will try as hard as you can but-"

"No! We _will_ win. There is no try about it."

Miroku just looked at her, stunned. She hardly ever rose her voice if she wasn't annoyed. Eventually he smiled and nodded. "Of course we will."

"Tell me about growing up with Mushin. What was it like?"

As Miroku spoke, Kagome found herself enjoying his stories. She joined in with tales of her own childhood, trouble she got into trouble with her little brother and games she played with her friends.

They were all strangers, forced together through circumstance and staying together because they were all afraid of losing their last link to hope, acceptance, and revenge. They were strangers to her, just like she was a stranger to them.


	26. Teammates

026.

Teammates

"This is a stupid idea." It was clear to everyone in the group that the half demon was uncomfortable in the plain white loincloth he was wearing.

"Get a grip, Inuyasha. We're short on money and this village has a strong miko, so Miroku's 'dark, looming cloud' thing won't work this time." Kagome adjusted the white bra band she sported. The damn thing was hardly wider than a head band. Sango was similarly dressed and looked at ease. She wasn't even wearing a towel to cover the loincloth she was wearing like Kagome was. "Besides, it's not that bad. I mean, look at Miroku. He's soaking all the attention up." The perverted monk was posing for the village girls surrounding him. He even made his pecs jump, something Kagome wasn't aware he could do.

"Or course he is. He's a man slut."

Their latest scheme was Sango's idea. They'd run into a string of villages with competent mikos and were unable to scam money or solve their real demon problems for payment. Their money supply was nearly extinct and even Miroku's pick-pocketing skills didn't help.

The idea probably stemmed from an argument between the demon slayer and Inuyasha. Sango was offended by an off-hand comment the half-demon had made about women's' fighting ability. It had been directed at Kagome, but females stick together when annoyed.

Sango placed a bet: Inuyasha couldn't beat the two women in a fight. Miroku, ever the opportunist, jumped in as Inuyasha's teammate. Fighting meant getting in close to the opponent, perfect groping time. It rained heavily for a few days and, the day of the fight, Miroku had another brainwave:

Mud wrestling.

So now the four of them were mud wrestling for the village's entertainment, mandatory donations, of course, were announced. Kagome couldn't decide if they were nervous or excited. It was a chance for them to blow off some steam, but at the chance of public nudity.

Inuyasha held his own quite well. He had his half-demon strength, but it was only effective if he could get a hold of Sango and, while drawing blood would up the ante, it wasn't allowed so he had to avoid getting them in the way of his grasp. Sango, on the other hand, steadily worked at gaining the upper hand. She wasn't afraid to pull Inuyasha's ears, or step deliberately onto his foot. For all her proper demon slayer training, she fought dirty.

Sango won with a vicious elbow to Inuyasha's nose.

Kagome's fight with Miroku was more of a joke than anything. The monk spent the whole time tickling and trying to grope her, heedless of the blows she landed on him. Kagome won with a heavy tackle that sent the two of them into the thick mud underneath them. The two of them lay panting, Kagome perched on Miroku's hips.

"I win, Miroku."

The monk cocked an eyebrow and flexed his hips. Kagome gasped as she was thrown forward, falling face first into his chest. A muddy hand groped her arse gently.

"Sure you did."


	27. Parents

027.

Parents

"I blame you."

Miroku looked up from feeding the four little monsters around his feet. Inuyasha stood a few feet away from him, two fur balls in his arms and another hanging off of his sleeve. Kagome and Sango were herding another three over to where the two men were. Shippo sat by Kagome's bag, chocolate in hand. Kirara was suspiciously absent.

"And why is that, Inuyasha?"

"Because if you hadn't sucked up their parents, Kagome would have never suggested we take care of all these fucking bunnies!"

"Yes, but if you hadn't disturbed their den, they would have never attacked us in the first place."

"I was trying to get us dinner! How was I supposed to know the rabbits I smelled were fucking demons?"

"I think the abnormally large den might have been a clue."

Inuyasha scowled and dropped the bunny babies so they could go eat with their siblings. "Che, whatever. I'm going to go see if I can get some real food. These things are too small to eat anyway." The half demon stalked off, shaking his sleeve to dislodge the bunny still attached. Miroku just shook his head and picked up another baby to bottle feed it. The girls came over with the strays and sat down to help. Every so often one of the babies would burp and send the two of them into squeals and giggles.

"These guys are so cute!" Kagome snuggled a bunny with another giggle. She reached for another bottle. "Oh, no! We're running out of bottles! Sango, could you run to my bag and get some more of the formula? I'll need to mix more up." The demon slayer nodded and jogged across the clearing to where Shippo sat with the bag. The little fox greeted her enthusiastically and helped her look for the can.

The bunny in Miroku's grasp burped and snuggled into his neck, leaving a small wet spot on his skin from its soaked, furry face. Kagome cooed at him. "Aw, Miroku he likes you!"

"Of course he does. With Inuyasha being the only other adult male, I'm a much better choice."

"Modest, I see." Kagome rocked the bunny in her arms. "You'd make a great father, you know."

The monk froze for a spilt second, halfway through setting the bunny in his arms down. "Thank you for saying so, Kagome."

"Of course, any child of yours is sure to be a pervert. I can already picture your daughter trying to sneak into the boys' bath."

Miroku's brow ticked. "Yes, well, I think you would make an excellent mother, horrible temper aside."

"_What_ did you say?"


	28. Children

028.

Children

Miroku couldn't be more horrified if Mushin danced by in nothing but a loincloth. Kagome stood before him, looking down with an apologetic smile and a square of cloth in one hand. With his now limited vocabulary, Miroku let her know exactly what he thought of her idea.

"No!"

"Come on, Miroku. I don't like this any better than you, but this will keep your embarrassment to a minimum until we can fix you."

Miroku took a second to process that, mind stumbling over the big words. The girl was right. His mind was, for the most part, the same age as it had always been, but now his body was only a few years old and didn't have the muscle control he enjoyed as an adult. With a sigh that was way too cute to resist squealing at, Miroku nodded his head and allowed Kagome to pick him up and set him down on her sleeping bag. Their faces were red hot as she quickly and efficiently wrapped his lower regions in the white cloth and pulled his large shirt back down.

Miroku swore that the next time Inuyasha suggested they bath in the very hot springs the villagers refused to let them bathe in 'just to piss them off', he was going to push the half demon in first.

"Don't worry, Miroku. We'll be back to Kaede's village in no time. She'll be able to help you and Inuyasha turn back into adults."

On the other side of the hut, Sango and Shippo were working together to pin the half demon down so that a diaper could be secured on him as well. The sight made Miroku feel a little better, but the sudden rush of warmth between his legs had him cursing. He looked up at Kagome pleadingly and was relieved to see she already had another diaper in her hands. As he lay back down to get changed, Miroku felt like crying. A horrible smell filled the air as his bowels emptied again and he gave into the urge and bawled.


	29. Birth

029.

Birth

Miroku found her sitting in front of Kaede's hut, face pale and eyes distant. Her mouth opened and closed in horror and every so often one eye twitched. "Lady Kagome, are you alright?"

Kagome started violently and looked up at him as if she'd never seen him before. "I'm never having children."

To Miroku this was an odd statement. Not because women of his time were expected to have children, but because Kagome was so good with them and had expressed an interest in having one or two when she got married. "Why the sudden change of heart?"

"Suki-san had her baby today."

"Oh?" He'd have to remember to give them congratulations.

"Kaede can't see very well, so she had me help deliver."

_Oh_. Miroku had never witnessed a birth before, but he'd heard the horrible noises associated with one. "Well, I'm sure it looked worse than it actually was. Suki-san is a strong woman."

"She begged us to kill her. My hand is going to bruise from her holding on so hard." She held up her hand and Miroku hissed in sympathy. Her fingers were already turning purple.

"I'm sure that you'll change your mind wh-"

"No." Kagome resumed staring at nothing in horror. Miroku gave up and went to look for Inuyasha. The half demon had disappeared at the first sign of the event.


End file.
